


edi wow ikaw na magaling

by maraanan



Category: Heneral Luna (2015)
Genre: High School AU, M/M, english pero tagalog din, kris aquino voice: nakakaloca, sobrang AU as in
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-26
Updated: 2015-10-26
Packaged: 2018-04-28 07:15:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5082688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maraanan/pseuds/maraanan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Oo nga, mag-partners nga tayo, pero mas marunong ako sa lesson na ito kaya ako na lang gagawa. Ibibigay ko na lang 'to sa iyo kapag tapos na ako, 'tsaka ikaw ang taga-type at taga-print.”</p><p>Edi wow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	edi wow ikaw na magaling

**Author's Note:**

> whew sa wakas tinapos ko to. nais kong magpasalamat kay cocoa-coola.tumblr.com, ang bespren ko at beta ng fic na ito; kay bathala dahil binigyan niya tayo ng sembreak kaya may oras akong magsulat ng mga kagaguhan tulad nito; at kay eraserheads. wala lang mahal ko kase sila.
> 
> part 2, maybe, abangan?

“... Hah?”

Mabini shrugs, and doesn’t even look up from where he was writing. Aguinaldo has no idea what he's doing, though it's probably the problem sets Mrs. Santiago gave them last period during math time, because Mabini doesn't know the difference between homework and seatwork. Tanginang 'tong nerd na 'to. 

“Narinig mo ako," Mabini says.

Kapal ng mukha nito, ah.

Now, Aguinaldo knows that he isn’t very smart. He knows he can’t raise his hand often in class because he never knows the answer; he’s familiar with lines of seven on his report cards. An 82 or 83 would be the end of the world for someone like Mabini, but not Aguinaldo. Anything above 70 would be a major achievement.

And Aguinaldo is also a boy who listens to his parents, and his parents taught him to never let anyone treat him like shit.

So he is definitely, no way in hell going to let it slide when some guy comes and says, “ _Oo nga, mag-partners nga tayo, pero mas marunong ako sa lesson na ito kaya ako na lang gagawa. Ibibigay ko na lang 'to sa iyo kapag tapos na ako, 'tsaka ikaw ang taga-type at taga-print._ ”

Aguinaldo clenches his jaw, inhales, squares his shoulders.

“Anong sinabi mo?” he says.

Mabini stops his pencil. He finally lifts his head and looks at Aguinaldo. His brows are knit together in confusion, his eyes narrowed. “Ano?”

“Ginagago mo ba ako?” Aguinaldo demands.

But Mabini only rolls his eyes. “‘Wag ka ngang OA.”

OA? _OA_? Putangina yabang talaga nito.

But Mabini has already returned to whatever he’s writing in his notebook. Aguinaldo merely huffs, and leaves. He knows how to pick his battles. No worries; he’ll sort this out soon enough.

 

 

 

“Para kang bata, Aguinaldo,” says Bonifacio as he wipes his sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. They're in the changing room after training, where everything was sour, from the nasty stench of adolescent boys' pits, to the sweat-drenched jerseys, to Bonifacio's current mood.

Aguinaldo frowns. “Anong ‘parang bata’? Siya kaya yung parang bata!”

Bonifacio sighs in frustration. “Ano ba? Pagod nga ako sa training. Ba’t ba parating nagra-rant ka sakin? Close ba tayo?”

“E. . . friends naman tayo, diba?”

Bonifacio looks at him in disgust. He grabs his training bag and stomps out of the changing room. Aguinaldo’s frown deepens. He turns to Jacinto, their varsity manager. “Jacinto,” he says, “ba’t parang masungit si Boni ngayon?”

Jacinto looks up from his clipboard. “Ah,” he says gingerly, “palaging ganun ‘yon.” He doesn’t sound too happy to be talking to Aguinaldo, either.

“Jacinto,” Aguinaldo says again, scooting closer to him on the bench. “Tayo, mag-kaibigan naman tayo diba?”

“Ah…” Jacinto’s look glazed over. “Well, manager naman ako ng team ninyo…”

“Mabuti naman!” says Aguinaldo. “‘Di ka katulad ni Boni, palagi siyang galit sa ‘kin. Ewan ko lang kung bakit. Kinukwento ko lang naman yung nangyari sa English kanina, e -”

“Ay, oo nga,” said Jacinto hurriedly. He quickly stands up. “May kailangan pa akong gawin, naalala ko lang ngayon -”

“Teka, chill lang muna. Saglit lang ‘to.” says Aguinaldo, setting Jacinto back down by his shoulders.

Jacinto sighs.

Aguinaldo continues. “E, ganito kasi, may pair project kami sa English. Si Miss yung pumili ng mag-partners. Tapos, yung partner ko, yung punyetang Mabini na iyan, ang kapal ng mukha -”

Jacinto’s mood shifts, from uninterested and tired to interested and _trash talk what trash talk tell me more_. “Nakikinig ako.”

“Huh. . . okey. Kilala mo ba siya?”

Jacinto nods. “Oo. Debate club kasi rin ‘yan. Ang yabang niya kaya. Akala niya siya lang parating tama.”

“Diba?” says Aguinaldo. “Sabi nga niya sa ‘kin, ‘ako nalang gagawin lahat kase mas matalino ako kaysa iyo.’ Edi wow ikaw na magaling!”

Jacinto leans forward, with his chin in his palms and elbows on his knees. This is honestly the friendliest conversation Aguinaldo’s ever had with Jacinto. “Tapos?”

“Tapos sabi ko, ‘ginagago mo ba ‘ko?’ Tapos sabi niya, ‘Wag ka ngang OA!’” says Aguinaldo, mimicking Mabini’s voice in a not-so-accurate high tone.

“Ganun din siya sa Debate! Shet, nakakabwiset. Ang fake niya pa. Pa-simple, kunwari wala siyang kasalanan,” says Jacinto. “Pakisabi nga sa kanya para sa ‘kin na tayo’y nasa Makati at bawal ang plastik dito.”

Aguinaldo bursts out laughing.

 

 

 

Aguinaldo finds out from Jacinto that Mabini can usually be found in the library at lunch (because Aguinaldo would ever find that out on his own, he never goes to the library). He finds him at one of the tables at the back, isolated from the rest and a stack of thick books his only companion.

“Huy.”

Mabini doesn't startle, and just looks up calmly to see Aguinaldo. He closes his book carefully. “O? Ano?”

“‘Musta na yung project?”

Mabini huffs. “‘Wag kang mag-alala. Gagawin ko naman nang maayos, e. Di mo kailangan mag-check-up sakin, ano, grades-conscious masyado?”

“Ipo -” Aguinaldo starts with a loud voice, then stops because, oo nga, library. He lowers his voice to a whisper. “Ipokrito ka pala, a. Ikaw kaya ang pinaka grades-conscious sa buong batch natin.”

Mabini is unaffected. “Tapos?”

Aguinaldo groans. He puts his palms up in defeat. “Fine. Sige. Pumunta nga ako dito upang magtanong kung kinakailangan mo nang tulong, pero, sige, gets ko na, sige, aalis na ‘ko.”

He turns around and starts walking away. Lecheng Mabini, putangina. Akala niya siya na ang pinakamagaling? Edi pukeng ina -

“Sa - sandali.”

Aguinaldo stops. He turns back to Mabini, still at his table and frowning.

“Ano?”

“Hindi ko naman sinadya,” says Mabini, reverting his eyes downwards. “Sorry. Minsan mataray talaga yung dating ko, at hindi ko napapansin hanggang sa pinagsabihan na ako.”

Ah. Aguinaldo blinks. Well. At least he said sorry. He sighs.

(He can’t stay mad at him, really.)

He walks back to Mabini’s table and sits down in a chair opposite him. “. . . Sige nga,” he says, “So, pwede na akong tumulong?”

“Well, actually, okey na naman ako, e.”

Aguinaldo gives him a dry look. “Mabini.”

Mabini sighs. “Fine. Kung gusto mo talaga, bibigyan kita.” He opens his notebook and brings out a pen. “Eto, i-divide natin yung work, gawin mo ito tapos gagawin ko ‘to . . .”

Aguinaldo smiles.

 

 

 

 **AGUINALDO:** [link]

 **AGUINALDO:** o eto o yung reference hinahanap mo

 **AGUINALDO:** para sa project natin

 **MABINI:** Aguinaldo

 **MABINI:** Wikipedia to

 **AGUINALDO:** huh tapos

 **MABINI:** Usually hindi ginagamit ang Wikipedia sa research.

 **AGUINALDO:** bakit legit naman to e

 **MABINI:** May minus yan. Di ka ba nakikinig kay Miss noong isang araw?

 **AGUINALDO:** e tulog ata ako nun e

 **MABINI:** Hay nako  >:(

 

 

 

Aguinaldo heaves the stack of books he’s carrying on the table he and Mabini are using. “Ayun, lahat ng librong mahanap ko tungkol sa Regency Era chu chu.”

Mabini stops writing in his notebook. “Ah, thank you,” he says.

“Mabuti nalang maaga tayong pumunta sa library, no?” Aguinaldo picks up the book on top of the pile and leafs through it. “Siguro maiinis sa ‘tin yung mga ibang gumagawa ng research din. Nakuha na natin lahat ng libro, e,” he jokes. Mabini doesn’t laugh, just goes back to working on his notebook, and Aguinaldo remembers that, oh, right, this is Mabini. And Apolinario Mabini doesn’t do jokes; he's practically a stone cold robot. It's one of the school's widely-accepted truths, alongside the facts that Juan Luna's high-art oil paintings are a farce and that his true love is drawing anime, and that Jose Rizal is really xX_Kiko_Balagtas_Lover_Xx on Wattpad, no matter how much he tries to "deny" it in his incredibly pabebe way.

(Pretty much the most emotional Aguinaldo's ever seen Mabini get was when he was upset he hurt Aguinaldo’s feelings or something that other time, when he almost walked out on him.)

“Alam mo,” says Mabini, after a few minutes have passed in silence. “hindi naman puro source-gathering ang kailangan mong gawin. Kung gusto mong tumulong sa pagsulat sa paper mismo, pwede.”

“Ah.” Aguinaldo scratches the back of his head. “E, kasi, okey na ako sa ganito. Hindi naman dahil tamad ako, pero. . .”

Mabini looks at him. “Pero. . .?”

“. . . Hindi ako matalino, kagaya sa ‘yo?”

“Aguinaldo.” Mabini puts his pen down, and he frowns. “Huwag ka naman ganyan.”

Aguinaldo waves a hand. “Eh, okey lang. Magaling naman ako sa ibang bagay, diba? Basketball varsity ako.”

Mabini shakes his head. “Kahit na,” he says, “hindi porket mababa yung grades mo ibig sabihin bobo ka.”

Aguinaldo looks down. “Sino nagsabi,” he says softly.

Mabini sighs. “Ang grades,” he starts, “hindi ‘yan measurement ng intelligence mo. Measurement iyan ng. . . how well you follow your teachers. Basta nakikinig ka, at sipsip ka, papasa ka.”

That made Aguinaldo grin. “Sipsip, tulad mo?”

And Mabini actually smiles this time (bagay sa kanya, Aguinaldo thinks, as the smile brightens up his usually dry, bored face). “Punyeta ka, Aguinaldo.”

Aguinaldo chuckles. “Miong.”

“Ano?”

“Miong,” he says. “Miong, ‘di Aguinaldo.”

Mabini raises a brow. “At saan galing ang ‘Miong’?”

Aguinaldo laughs. “Lola ko.”

 

 

 

Miss checks everyone’s progress on their projects the next day. Aguinaldo and Mabini show her what they’ve done proudly, and their teacher commends them for being the most productive pair in the class. The praise does good things for Aguinaldo's ego. Him, Emilio F. Aguinaldo, being  _responsible_! _Hah, take that!_ he says in his mind, pretending he's talking to the nearly-considered-legitimate school confessions twitter account's poll which voted him as the #1 Tamad Boy Sa Batch.

“Ayos.” Aguinaldo holds the door open for Mabini as they leave the classroom for lunch. “Konti nalang, tapos na tayo.”

“Mmm,” says Mabini. “‘Di pa tapos yung stress though. May test pa, at yung Filipino performance task, at -”

“Huwag muna natin isipin iyon,” says Aguinaldo hurriedly.

“O, sige,” says Mabini. “San tayo ngayon? Library?”

“Pwede bang kumain muna?”

“Sige. Kumain ka muna, diretso na ako sa library -”

“Sama mo naman ako, syempre!”

“Sigurado ka?”

Aguinaldo stops. “Oo naman!" He says, incredulous. "Bakit naman hindi? Ayaw mo ba?”

“Hindi,” says Mabini. “Naisip ko lang na baka ayaw mong magpakita na kasama mo ako sa public. Oo nga partners tayo, pero hindi ba sobra na ‘yan? May reputasyon ka, diba? Maraming ayaw sa akin.”

“Ano ka ba,” says Aguinaldo. “Mag-kaibigan tayo.”

Mabini is silent. They both have stopped in their tracks by now. They stay in the middle of the hallway, amidst students and teachers rushing past them. There’s a strange expression on Mabini’s face, something Aguinaldo can’t quite read - loneliness, surprise, gratitude, hope?

He doesn’t know.

In a very soft voice, Mabini says, “thank you.”

Aguinaldo opens his mouth, then closes it. What does he say? He doesn’t know what to say.

“Huwag kang mag-thank you,” he says at last. “hindi naman siya favor.”

“Sa bagay,” says Mabini. “Tama ka naman.”

 

 

 

 **AGUINALDO:** [link]

 **MABINI:** Ano yan?

 **AGUINALDO:** basta panoorin mo na!!

 **MABINI:** Bakit? Nag-aaral ako ngayon

 **AGUINALDO:** wala nakakatawa lang kasi

 **MABINI:** Di ko pa rin naiintindihan

 **AGUINALDO:** ://

 **AGUINALDO:** eto ang ginagawa ng mag-kaibigan apolinario!

 **MABINI:** Ano, kalokohan?

 **MABINI:** May summative kami sa elective ko bukas, alam mo.

 **MABINI:** At huwag mo rin akong tawaging “Apolinario” utang na loob

 **AGUINALDO:** edi ano gusto mo?

 **MABINI:** Pole nalang. Yan yung tawag ng mga kapatid ko sa kin.

 **AGUINALDO:** pole?

 **AGUINALDO:** yung parang bakal?

 **MABINI:** Po-leh kasi lintik ka.

 

 

 

Aguinaldo watches as Mabini put the final corrections on their research paper. Eating together during lunch has become a regular thing for them now. They're out in the hallway outside the classroom today, since the canteen’s too noisy for Mabini to work properly. Aguinaldo takes a bite out of the ensaymada he bought.

Mabini puts his pen down and leans back. “Ayun.”

Aguinaldo perks up. “Tapos na?”

“Oo,” says Mabini. He hands the papers to Aguinaldo. “Eto. I-type mo yan sa Word mamaya, ha? Tapos i-print mo. Kung malilimutan mo yan sa bahay bukas sasampalin kita diyan.”

Aguinaldo chuckles. “Sige po.”

A loud, familiar laugh is heard, somewhere from below them. Aguinaldo goes over to the other side of the hallway and looks down the large window. Bonifacio and Jacinto were walking along on the first floor, joking about something.

An idea pops into Aguinaldo’s head.

“Sino ‘yun?” asks Mabini.

“Shhh,” hushes Aguinaldo. Bonifacio and Jacinto haven’t noticed him. He cups his palms around his mouth. “PANGET SI ANDRES BONIFACIO,” he yells, and ducks.

                                                           

Bonifacio looks up sharply, his brows knitted together and mouth open in fury and disbelief. “Sino ‘yon? Milio, narinig mo ‘yan?” he says loudly. “Putangina, Aguinaldo, ikaw ba yan? Anak ka ng puta huwag kang magtago langya kitang-kita yung punyetang plantsang buhok mo diyan Agui _gago_ -”

“Shet!” Aguinaldo says. “Pa-akyat na siya dito!” He gets up quickly and starts pushing Mabini’s wheelchair and running away from the staircase.

“Mi-Miong!” Mabini cries, gripping the armrests of his wheelchair like a lifeline.

“‘LANG HIYA KA ‘WAG KANG TUMAKAS,” Bonifacio booms from behind them.

(“Teka lang Boni ang bilis mo!” they hear Jacinto whine.)

Aguinaldo pushes faster and faster, turns here and turns there, running past students and teachers. They reach the elevator, with a sign that reads “STAFF ONLY” and below it, “and Apolinario Mabini” in handwriting.

Bonifacio could be seen running towards them while the doors were still open, his mad footsteps stomping on the ground loudly like a very scary bull. Aguinaldo presses the close button a hundred times, turning over prayers in his head. _Hail Mary full of grace the lord is with you, hail Mary full of grace the lord is with you, please lang alam ko na palagi akong tumutulog kapag nagsesermon si father pero please itong favor nalang po -_

“HOY PUTANGINA -” Bonifacio, yells, and the elevator doors close before his red, pulsing face.

The two let out a collective sigh of relief inside as the elevator makes its way down. Mabini wipes at his brow, clearly shaken. "Salamat Mama Mary," Aguinaldo mutters, leaning against the wall.

Aguinaldo and Mabini rush out of the elevator when they reach the ground floor, and he pushes him down the ramp towards the library. Aguinaldo runs inside as someone about to leave holds open the door, and the librarian drops her books in her shock when they bolted past her.

They hide somewhere between the stacks at the back of the library. Panting, Aguinaldo drops to the floor.

“Wild,” says Mabini. He sounds exhausted too, though he didn’t spend the past moments pushing around a friend while running around the school. “‘Di ako sanay.”

Aguinaldo dissolves into a mad fit of giggles on the floor. Mabini joins him, his hands covering his face as his shoulders shook with every laugh. Aguinaldo feels like his heart grew three sizes larger at the sight.

“Hahanapin ba niya tayo dito?” Mabini asks between laughs. His face is pink from giggling.

“Hindi na ata. Sana.” Aguinaldo says.

“Diba ka-varsity mo ‘yun?” Mabini asks. Aguinaldo nods. Mabini laughs again. “Jusmeyo, Miong, patay ka talaga diyan!”

Aguinaldo grins.

“Ano? Ba’t ka nakangiti?”

“Tinawag mo ako ‘Miong’,” says Aguinaldo.

Mabini’s face reddens. “Ah, kasi. . .”

They hear the click-clack of high heels. Aguinaldo and Mabini turn their heads at the sound. The librarian scolds them, as expected, but it did not do anything to dampen either’s mood.

 

 

 

Aguinaldo stares at the paper in front of him. The paper was returned two periods ago but he still can’t believe it. He doesn’t remember the last time he’s ever received such a high score.

_98/100. Brilliant! Congratulations for achieving the highest score in your section._

“I-frame mo nalang kaya,” says Mabini. They’re in the canteen again, eating lunch.

“Gago.”

“Gago ka rin,” Mabini says. “‘Musta training niyo kahapon?”

“Galit pa rin si Boni sa ‘kin.”

Mabini chuckles. Silence. Then, “Ay, oo nga pala.”

“Hm?” Aguinaldo takes a bite out of his sisig, then swallows. “Ano?”

Mabini fidgets with his fingers. “Ah. . . may tournament kami sa Saturday. Debate. Sa Xavier. Libre naman manood.”

“At. . .” starts Aguinaldo. “Gusto mo akong manood sa ‘yo?”

Mabini reddens, and he reverts his eyes. “Kung may time ka lang, at kung gusto mo, okey lang naman kung ayaw mo, alam ko na boring minsan yung topics -”

Aguinaldo shakes his head. “Di bale. Game ako!”

Mabini blinks at him in surprise. “Sure?”

“Oo!” Aguinaldo smiles. “Kahit economics o politics man ‘yan, sige. Kung ikaw, okey sa ‘kin.”

Mabini’s face turns into a deeper shade of red. Aguinaldo realizes what he’s just said. He feels his cheeks heat up as well.

“Ah. . . sorry,” says Aguinaldo, “ang awkward.”

“Hindi,” says Mabini quickly, “O -. Okay lang.”

“Ah, okay. Sige,” says Aguinaldo. His face still feels hot.

“So. . .” says Mabini. “See you there?”

Aguinaldo nods. “Oo. Sigurado ‘yan.” He smiles. Mabini smiles back.

Being partnered up with Mabini didn’t turn out so badly after all.


End file.
